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China Celebrates the National Day

October 1st this year is the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). On this day 65 years ago, at a mass rally held in Beijing, Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China.

Prior to the creation of the People's Republic, from 1912 to 1949, the Republic of China (ROC) ruled the country. The ROC, however, had a difficult time wresling with domestic trouples and foregin agression, especially the Japanese invasion. Severely weakened by internal strife and wars with Japan, the ROC could not withstand the challenge posed by the Communists, who, supported by peasants encouraged by the prospects of receiving land from the revolutionaries, defeated the ruling Nationalists led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. The Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan, where the ROC has survived to our day. Taiwan celebrates October 10th as the National Day for the ROC; the origin of that National Day goes back to 1911, when a revolution toppled the last imperial dynasty in China, the Qing Dynasty.

In the past the People’s Republic has held parades and related events every fifth National Day – 5th, 10th, etc. It is said, however, that even though this year marks the 65th anniversary of the Republic’s founding, there will be no parades as the Chinese government, led by President Xi Jinping, campaigns against corruption and extravagance.